What’s with saying “Thank you?” Why all the fuss? These and many more may be the questions in your heart as a child. Maybe you have heard your parents tell you, over and over again, to always be grateful for every act of kindness you receive from anyone, and you are wondering how to do it so that you will do it well.
Now saying “thank you” is much more than speaking the words. It should come from deep within you. It is a sign that you truly appreciate what was done for you.
Being grateful is sweet because it tells the person doing you the favour that the help they rendered to you was indeed needed by you. No one wants to receive what they don’t need. So also, no one wants to give help or do favours that are not needed.
Again, your show of gratitude (through a ‘thank you’) tells the person that their time wasn’t wasted on you. If you refuse to say or show your gratitude, you are saying to them that they just wasted their time and resources on you. That you don’t need it. Or even value it.
That’s very unfair and could mar your chances of ever receiving from them again. And when you continue that way, a time will come when no one would want to do you good. That’s a bad place to be!
Today and onwards, learn to show your gratitude with your words (saying ‘thank you’) and actions. Let these two things tell people you are an appreciative person.
Verse 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Thank God I am not Jesus! He simply dealt with the opposition first. If it were you or me in our full strength of humanity, you will take a look at the disciples, and say something like,
“How dare you talk to me, your creator like that? Is it me that you asking a question whether I care for you or not? Now all of you go to the corner of the ship, where the storm is really strong, kneel down, and raise your hands. That is your punishment. Because of ordinary storm, you are talking to me like that? Now, I want to go back to sleep, and none of you should dare disturb my godly sleep!
But God is a God of mercy. Jesus rebuked the wind and spoke to the wind.
How can Jesus rebuke the wind? How can he be speaking to the wind? You see, Jesus actually addressed the spirit behind the wind and the sea. You don’t rebuke a chair or a table, or Television set. But you can rebuke and speak to the spirit behind any anomaly in your life.
What Jesus has done is what he would have wanted the disciples to do. Rebuke the situation and speak to it.
When you see a persistent negative trend in your life, rebuke it. Resist it and reject it. When you sense the storm of delay in your relationship or marriage, come against it and take authority over it rather than keep asking God why he has abandoned you!
After Jesus has dealt with the situation, what did he do? Let’s take a look at the last verse we are looking at today.
Verse 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
There are two pertinent things here.
a. Jesus asked them to stop being fearful.
b. He asked them to have faith.
In other words, if these two things have been in place, there would not have been a need to wake up Jesus before dealing with the situation. The disciples really delayed themselves by being fearful!
What are your fears? That is there is a generational curse? That all the ladies in your family end up in divorce or separation in marriage? That none of the ladies in your family gets married before forty-five? That all the men in your family had child-birth issues? That there seems to be an ancestral curse? That the men in your family have irresponsibility issues? What is that storm?
Refuse to fear! Fear is a weapon in the hands of the devil. Refuse to fear because Jesus already got you the victory!
Stay in faith. Stay in God’s word. The more you read and study God’s word, the more you build your faith. When these two factors are in place, go ahead and rebuke that storm! There will be calm!
Listen to me, God will answer your prayers. Focus on Him, refuse to be distracted and stay away from all sins! Stay away from all Jeru trips! This month, God will answer you!
Say after me: I refuse to fear. I have faith in God. I rebuke every storm, I come against every wrong spirit behind my situation. I bind you in the name of Jesus. I proclaim my freedom today, for whosoever the son of man shall set free shall be free indeed! I declare today, that my prayers are being answered speedily in Jesus name. Every curse is broken, every delay is terminated. I receive speed in God to arrive at my God-ordained destination in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I walk in faith, not in fear.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Come against all forms of fear in your relationship.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mark 4:39(MSG) Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass.
I am continuingfrom where I stopped yesterday. We started on the topic how to experience fruitfulness is marriage
Now, in the natural, there is a God-ordained way for a woman to go before her womb will carry a child. There must be intercourse with a man. So if you want your womb to be fruitful here are 4 God-ordained way to go about it.
1. Have a relationship with God.
Here I don’t mean a casual church service relationship with God. I mean love Him, with the whole of your heart. Love him with your life. Decide to marry this gracious God. Seek after him. Be a God chaser. Go after him. Let your heart long for him. Reach out to know the God that so love you and have good plans for your destiny.
2. Have intercourse with God’s spirit.
Just like there is no conception without intercourse, there is no birthing of your glorious destiny without fellowshipping with the Spirit of God. Get filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Spend time with the Holy Spirit. You cannot be “gisting” with your friends all day long and expect a conception from the Holy Spirit. There are no postage conception, you have to be physically available.
3. Make God’s word your greatest treasure.
God’s word contains His mind and thoughts. Give attention to God’s word. His word has transforming powers. It changes us from one level of Glory to another.
4. Let your life be so full of thanksgiving and praise.
Let no evil come from your mouth except praises and thanksgiving. Learn it. Every mother had to learn the act of motherhood. You can adjust and learn to be a God praiser. Learn to be a gracious talker. Saying the great things God has promised you in His word rather than your present situation. If it looks like your life is barren, begin to prophesy to yourself, ‘ I am fruitful. My womb shall not be empty.’ And indeed, you shall indeed have what you say.
I pray for you once again, like every pregnant woman, who will carry her child till full term before delivery, you will carry your destiny to full term. You will not suffer an abortion of glory and destiny.
You will learn delayed gratification. You will learn to follow God all the way. You will enjoy the Grace of God over your life. Your life and destiny will be colourful and sweet. Your helpers of destiny will arise on your behalf. They will help you deliver your miracle child in Jesus name. Your womb will have fruits to show God’s faithfulness.
The womb of your marriage shall not know regrets in Jesus Name. Where there have been disappointment, there shall be restoration. Double for your trouble. Beauty for your ashes and songs of praise for your times of mourning. God will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will He with hold from you.
In your career, business and health, God will meet you at the point of your needs. He will order your steps and lead you in the way you should go with His eyes upon you. You will not be a misfired arrow in life in Jesus Name. May you major in the major and minor in the minor. May you continually choose that which is beneficial to you destiny.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am fruitful. I will conceive
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive the grace to be fruitful in all areas
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY “You’re here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!”” (Gen 9:7, MSG)
Sandra has been a child of God in all respect. She serves God with her time and energy, but she is not happy. She is getting older and all her prayers about getting the right man and settling in marriage seemed unanswered. Why does it seem God is not answering her prayers?
Bode on the other hand is married, but his marriage is full of challenges. His sweet fiancée then, is no longer his sweet wife after three years of marriage and he is wondering why he is getting tired of his marriage, and it looks like God is not answering all his prayers to salvage the situation.
Let’s delve into the scriptures, as we trust the Holy Spirit to bring to the fore precious truths that are specific to our situations.
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? (Mark 4:37-40 KJV)
Let’s pick it up from verse 37
Verse 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
There are two things I want you to see in this verse.
There arose a great storm of wind. In life, we have not been promised that there would never be storms, but that in the midst of the storm, if we can trust and look unto God, we will not be hurt! Our father has promised us a resounding victory in the midst of the storm.
The waves beat into the ship. The storms of life are targeted at you. It doesn’t mean you have done something wrong, it only means you are a child of God and the devil is not comfortable with that!
Let’s take a look at the next verse.
Verse 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
After the disciples have done all they could and yet the storm persisted rather than be abated, they went to Jesus out of frustration, and to their consternation, Jesus was asleep.
In Message translation, they said:
“Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”
How many times have you been there in your marital issues and you are like,
‘Master, carest not thou that I am single?’ ‘Teacher, is it nothing to you that I am getting old?’ ‘Master, carest not thou that my husband is wayward?’ ‘Teacher, is it nothing to you that I am being abused by one guy after the other?’ ‘Master, carest not thou about my finances, career, or marital issues?’ ‘Master, is it nothing to you that I am still childless?’
How many times have we felt like the disciples in our lives? Where is God? Why have the answers to my prayers lingered this much? Lord, where are you?
What did Jesus do? What will you do if it seems God is not answering you?
We will continue from there tomorrow. Don’t miss it!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I walk in faith, not in fear. God is answering my prayers.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Come against all forms of fear in your relationship.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mark 4:39(MSG) Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass.
The almighty God! What does it mean to be more than enough? How does one become more than enough? Can anyone be more than enough? Humanly speaking, it is outrightly impossible to do or be so. But not with the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
God is El Shaddai – the Almighty God who is more than enough for us. His power to help, protect, provide, and deliver us is more than we need. Imagine for a second, you need two cups of cereal to eat and there are ten cups of it in the package. You take the two needed and keep the rest, knowing in your mind that there are still eight cups left. You keep going back for more when you need to.
When God does something for you, don’t think He is out of stock. Rather, He has an indefinite supply of every and all the things you need or can ever need. Be it knowledge, strength, finances, friends, healing, jobs, protection – just name it. Remember, He created the world by just saying “Let there be….” He is the almighty God!
El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One, gives us life, nurtures us through His word and Spirit, and pours Himself (blessings) daily into us. Let’s look at a mother and child relationship.
Your mother gave birth to (life) and weaned you at her breast (nurture) – that means daily, she kept pouring herself into you (developing a deep and intimate relationship between you two). The relationship brought you comfort, protection, and security. As you think of this, think of the almighty God.
As a result of the nourishment received from her, you grew in good health and matured. She never worried that she could be out of breast milk. Why? Because nature has seen to it that she will always have an abundant supply to feed you with. In fact, the moment she got pregnant with you, nature had ensured that breast milk was going to be available for you. So, there was a supply of it – nourishment, waiting for you even before your birth.
El Shaddai isn’t worried that He doesn’t or won’t have enough to give you because He is the God that owns heaven and earth. He is the almighty God!
God is always filled and prepared to meet our needs. He wants to comfort and pass His being into us through His Word and Spirit. Just like a mother won’t forget or ignore her crying child, El Shaddai won’t and doesn’t forget you. In the event that a mother forgets or ignores her child’s cry, El Shaddai won’t.
“The Lord answers, “Can a woman forget the baby she nurses? Can she feel no kindness for the child she gave birth to? Even if she could forget her children, I will not forget you. see, I have written your name on my hand. Jerusalem, I always think about your walls.” Isaiah 49: 15-16, ICB.
Two things to remember – God is never out of supply (no scarcity or lack) and there is nothing you need that God cannot give or do for you. He is indeed the almighty God.
Prayer: El Shaddai, thank You for the abundance of Your love for me. Come be El Shaddai more in my life. Let Your over-sufficiency cover up all my insufficiencies. Amen.
